The Caretaker
by SheDreamsOfWorlds
Summary: What does it mean to be a caretaker?  After their troubles from Zildafontahexazist, all they wanted was some time to recover in peace, but trouble follows the TARDIS like a dark cloud.  2nd in 10/Martha/Jack Series
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: This story follows almost directly after Zildafontahexazist. You should really read that one first._

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The Caretaker

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Chapter 1

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Two bodies tumbled through the doors of the TARDIS in a flurry of limbs and kicked the door shut, laughing hysterically. It took a moment to untangle their long coats and sort themselves out, but they were still laughing when they regained their feet.

"I think they were a bit mad," the Doctor said innocently.

"What clued you in, the pitchforks or the torches?" Jack asked.

"No, no, it was the look on the foreman's face!" the Doctor crowed and they both dissolved into laughter again.

"No! Not the Phorillian Pollen!" Jack mimicked in a high and desperate voice, causing a fresh wave of laughter to overtake them. They sagged weakly against the railings, trying to catch their breath.

"I hope you two had fun out there," Martha grumbled half-heartedly from the jump seat. She sat sideways with her injured leg stretched across the seat. The edge of a white knee brace peeked out from the edge of her skirt. "I was worried!"

"Aw, Martha, there was nothing to be worried about! It was just a bit of industrial sabotage!" the Doctor said. "Boring stuff, really."

"Yeah, you guys look bored. Staying home while you two have all the fun…it's rubbish!" Martha said.

"Well you certainly couldn't run on that knee quite yet," the Doctor pointed out as he took the TARDIS into the vortex.

Jack put his arm around her shoulder with a charming smile. "You saved us all last time, you deserve a break." He helped her up and began leading her toward her room.

" Jack," the Doctor warned.

"I'm just giving her a hand to her room! You wouldn't want her to fall, would you?" Jack asked innocently.

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "It's barely lunch time."

"Right. Well, I just thought she'd like a little…nap," Jack said.

"I don't mind!" Martha giggled despite herself.

"Oh, for pity's sake! It's time to eat," the Doctor said, steering them toward the kitchen.

"That _was_ the plan," Jack muttered under his breath, causing Martha to blush. The Doctor pretended he was deaf.

* * *

A ball of Huon energy shimmered in the control room, lengthened, and resolved into the shape of a man. This was the most risky part of his plan, but it seemed luck was with him so far. The control room was empty and he could hear the sounds of cutlery clinking on dishes and laughter drifting from the hall. He swiftly crouched on the far side of the console, hidden from sight of the doorway, and removed the access panel.

He took out his laser shears and in moments he had wired a remote access conduit into the controls. It took a moment to sync his wrist unit to the conduit, and then it was done. Control of the TARDIS was his unless someone managed to physically remove the conduit. The man accessed the layout controls on his wrist unit and crept into the hall. The door to the control room disappeared behind him.

Now all he needed was leverage.

* * *

Martha shook silently with tears slipping down her face.

"_Breath_, Martha," the Doctor said. "You're turning purple."

Martha just shook her head and continued laughing. Jack handed her a napkin and she mopped at her face. Finally she managed a deep breath and sagged back in her chair. "You two are trying to kill me!" she said. "You didn't really leave them like that…"

"Well, we needed their clothes!"Jack defended.

"And you couldn't have tied them up separately?" Martha asked.

"Well, we only had the one bit of rope," the Doctor said. "It was better than the alternative."

"Don't play all innocent with me. You two were laughing like a couple of muppets when you came in," Martha said.

The Doctor and Jack were suddenly sober as they looked past Martha. They started to stand.

"Almost made my tea come out my nose. Thanks for that," Martha continued, not realizing anything was wrong.

"Martha," the Doctor said warningly. "Come away."

Jack reached for her but it was too late. The intruder who'd entered the room snaked an arm around Martha's neck and pulled her backwards. Her chair fell to the ground with a clatter and she struggled for a moment, choking as her injured knee gave out. He pressed his laser shears against her neck in warning and she froze.

Jack cursed as he reached for his Webley and found his holster empty. The Doctor had made him leave it behind when they'd gone to Zildafontahexazist.

"Who are you?" The Doctor's voice was low and dangerous.

"You can call me the Caretaker," the man said. "Don't worry, I'm just here for information. Give me what I need and no one gets hurt."

"What sort of information?" Jack asked.

"You will tell me _exactly_ how Gallifrey was destroyed, omitting no detail," the Caretaker said.

The Doctor looked like he was going to be sick. "How did you find out?"

"I'm a _Time Lord_. I travel through _time_. You must be thick if you thought no one would ever notice their entire planet is missing in the future," the Caretaker said. "And you, the only Time Lord who's personal timeline doesn't suddenly end at the same time. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"If you're so clever, then I'm sure you've looked up the Time War," the Doctor said. "The events are Time-Locked. There's nothing you can do."

"It hasn't happened for me yet," the Caretaker said. "I can still _fix_ it. It doesn't have to happen this way."

"It happened a _thousand_ different ways," the Doctor said with anguish. "Two races killing each other over and over again, caught in a deadlock. They just kept going back and starting over until time was turning to mush. Do you understand that? Soldiers caught in an endless cycle of death as their commanders failed, went back, and failed again. And again and again." His shoulders drooped with defeat. "I was the only one who could end it. So I did."

"There could be a way to win. You don't know that it would've gone on forever," the Caretaker protested. "They would have eventually got it right."

"There were circumstances. _Everything_ was threatened," the Doctor said. "I can tell you no more. Now, _release_ my friend."

"I think not," the Caretaker said, stepping back into the corridor and taking Martha with him. "You _will_ tell me what I need to know to save everyone, or your friend will pay the price." He pressed a button on his wrist and the kitchen doorway disappeared.

Jack ran forward and pounded on the blank wall. "What the hell was that? Where's the door?" he demanded.

The Doctor was rooted to the spot. "He's hacked into the layout controls," he said with horror. "We'll never get to her."

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_Author's note: This is going to be a shortish adventure, but I already have ideas for even more adventures after this._

_Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the final chapter of Zildafontahexazist: WhoNewbie, SenatorSolo, barbara7413, sadhappygirl, angnay, and PhoenixWytch._


	2. Chapter 2

The Caretaker

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Chapter 2

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Martha found herself propelled along strange corridors in the TARDIS. Everything looked familiar, but _wrong_, as if someone had rearranged a set of building blocks. The corridor blurred and shifted before her eyes and Martha felt nauseous.

"Have I gone barmy?" she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Be quiet," the Caretaker ordered, shoving her through a doorway at last. Martha's knee gave out and she sprawled across the floor, burning her chin and elbows on the dusty carpet of a dim bedroom.

Martha sat up with a quiet growl and massaged her knee, determined not to let her fear show. She got her first good look at her captor. He appeared to be about forty, not tall but not particularly short either, and solidly built. He had that 'surfer' look about him that people who spend a lot of time outdoors get. The look of desperation he wore sat oddly on features that looked like they were more accustomed to smiling.

At least she had some idea what she was dealing with; a Time Lord: highly intelligent, not particularly strong or poisonous or otherwise physically powerful. "Do I have a tag on my forehead that says 'Damsel in Distress' or something? Why am I always the hostage?"

The Caretaker finished erasing the door and rounded on Martha. "I said _be quiet_." He grabbed her by the neck and hauled her onto the bed. He brought his face close. "You are just a _mayfly_. If I have to destroy you to save my _planet_, I won't hesitate."

Martha swallowed all traces of her fear and looked him in the eye. "I'm not afraid of you. I've been manhandled by better men than you and I'm still standing. They'll come for me."

The Caretaker gripped her chin and peered closely at the fading bruises on her face. "Maybe I _did_ choose the wrong hostage. They can't care too much about you if they did this. Still, let's see if I can't _make_ them care."

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Jack gave up on the door after only a moment. It's not like it was merely locked, it was _gone_. There was not so much as a crack left to even attempt to pry open. He turned his attention to the Doctor, who still stood frozen in place.

"Hey!" Jack snapped his fingers in front of the Doctor's eyes. "Your friend needs you, so _wake up_ and tell me everything you know about this nut job."

The Doctor's eyes focused on Jack. "Oh, it'd be so much easier if he were a nutter."

"So you know this 'Caretaker,'" Jack said.

"By reputation only," the Doctor answered. "He's a nurturer; renowned for his cultivated gardens. He can coax plants to grow in even the most hostile climes. Animals do not shy from him, much like your Francis of Assisi."

"So you're telling me a Gallifreyan _saint_ has stolen aboard your TARDIS and taken Martha hostage," Jack said incredulously. "Doesn't sound like much of a saint to me."

"He's just found out his entire world, every man, woman, and child he cares for, every bird and beast, every plant he nurtured from a tiny seed is going to be destroyed. By me," the Doctor said. "I'm not surprised a man who cares so deeply for life is reacting badly."

"Well, don't let it distract you, Doctor. If you're gonna have a bleeding heart, have it for Martha. You know, your injured friend who's in the hands of a desperate psycho?" Jack pointed out.

The Doctor pierced Jack with a look but had no time to respond because just then they heard the com activate with a small burst of static. "Do you have anything to tell me, Doctor?" the Caretaker's voice drifted through.

"I've already told you, I can't," the Doctor said through gritted teeth.

"Not even for the sake of your little female?" he asked. There was a slight scuffling sound and then they heard a low moan. "Come on, woman, you have to do better than that," they heard him mutter. Then there was a sudden shriek that had the Doctor gripping Jack's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Martha. I can't," the Doctor choked.

"Don't. Tell. Him. _Anything!_" Martha said breathlessly.

"Good girl," Jack praised under his breath.

"You've got twenty minutes to think about it, Doctor, and then I'm going to hurt her again. How long do you think your fragile human friend will last?" the Caretaker asked. The com cut out.

Jack looked at the Doctor. "You heard the man, we've got twenty minutes. Is there another way out of this kitchen?"

The Doctor opened a lower cupboard and began tossing pots and pans out on the floor with his sonic screwdriver clenched in his teeth.

"Seriously?" Jack asked.

The Doctor ripped out the middle shelf and climbed head and shoulders into the cabinet. He ran his sonic around the inner top of the cupboard, which swung down like a hatch.

Jack thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head as the Doctor climbed into the hatch and disappeared. There should have been nothing above that hatch but the kitchen counter and air, but the Doctor disappeared into it all the same.

The Doctor's head reappeared. "You coming?"

Jack shook his head and muttered, "I know, I know. It's bigger on the inside. I should be used to these relative dimensions by now." He followed the Doctor through the hatch and found himself in a long round tunnel. "Where are we?"

"We are _in_ the inner workings of the TARDIS. Not just in the ship, but inside her biological structure. It's like the difference between holding a stone cupped in your hand and having a stone lodged in your hand," the Doctor explained as they crawled.

"Are we hurting her?" Jack asked, worried.

The Doctor gave a small smile at his friend's concern for his ship. "More like irritating her a bit, but she knows it's for a good cause. She'll try not to cough us up," he said. They crawled on.

"So where are we going?" Jack asked.

"We've got to get to the control room and undo whatever it is the Caretaker did," the Doctor answered. "This place is a giant maze otherwise, and we'll never be able to find them."

Jack thought of his Webley, stashed under the floor near the console. It'd be a relief to have it back, and right now he could think of an excellent use for it. "But how will we find the control room? If the Caretaker's taken over the layout controls, it could be anywhere," Jack said.

"The heart of the TARDIS is in the control room. The Caretaker may be able to rearrange the rooms, but her heart is a part of her physiology," the Doctor explained. "Do you hear that? It's her beating heart. We just need to follow that sound to the source."

Jack did hear a pulsing sound, now that his attention was drawn to it, but it seemed to come from everywhere. He hoped the Doctor's hearing was more precise than his.

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* * *

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Martha clutched at her knee and swallowed her moans of pain. She could still feel the imprint where the Caretaker had dug his fingers into her already injured knee and twisted. God, it was too soon. Too soon! Martha hadn't really even dealt with her feelings over being attacked by the Doctor when he'd been under the influence of an accidental dose of Phorillian Pollen.

And now here she found herself again, trapped with a man who intended her harm. There was no handy object this time for her to knock the Caretaker out. Aside from the bed, which seemed to her a threat unto itself, there wasn't even any other furniture. The bedroom appeared to be a spare that had never had the occasion to be used. No way to fight. Nowhere to run. The word 'trapped' echoed through Martha's head.

"Do you Time Lords just name yourself anything you please? Because you obviously didn't _earn_ the title of _Caretaker_," Martha goaded.

She knew it was a foolish thing to do, but it was that or fall to pieces and she'd rather not give him the satisfaction. She had faith that the Doctor and Jack would find a way to get to her, and she'd rather still be standing tall, even if only metaphorically, when they saw her again.

The Caretaker trembled as he turned to face Martha.

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_Author's note: The next chapter's the last, but I'm hard at work on the next story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter: sadhappygirl, angnay, and Nagini Potter._


	3. Chapter 3

The Caretaker

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Chapter 3

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"Hurry, Doctor. We're running out of time," Jack said. They'd entered the control room through a hatch hidden ten feet up on the wall. After dropping down, the Doctor had immersed himself in the console controls and Jack had retrieved his Webley. The com crackled to life then and they heard the distinct sound of sobbing interspersed with moans of pain.

"Damn it, leave her alone!" the Doctor shouted. "You said twenty minutes!"

"You can make this end. You can make things right. We can save everyone!" the Caretaker begged.

The Doctor found himself wavering. The Caretaker had been a remarkable man in his own right. A man of life and peace, not death and destruction like himself. Maybe there was a chance he could save Gallifrey where the Doctor had failed...He would give anything to take it back; to be able to go _home_ again...

Apparently he'd been silent too long, thinking. "Tell me what I need to know!" the Caretaker screamed. There was another scream in the background followed by great gulping breaths.

"Alright! I'll tell you! Just stop, _please!_" the Doctor said. "There was this moment..." There was the click of a gun cocking and the Doctor found himself looking down the barrel of Jack's Webley for the second time that week, effectively silencing him.

"Don't make me shoot you, Doctor. I'm sorry, but there's more at stake here and you know it," Jack said.

"Oh, Doctor," the Caretaker laughed, and in that moment the Doctor knew that whatever peace the Caretaker had carried in his soul had fled, replaced by insanity; just one more thing the Doctor had destroyed. "You fail to protect your pretty little woman and your only ally threatens to shoot you. Deal with him. We'll talk again in twenty." The com clicked off.

"Damn it, Jack, who knows what he's doing to her! I promised I'd take care of her," the Doctor said, gesturing angrily.

"I care about her too, but if you give him what he wants, _everyone_ dies, including her!" Jack shot back as he uncocked his Webley and holstered it.

"Oh, you act like you care so much," the Doctor accused. "She's nothing to you. You were just hoping for a chance at a quick bang!"

"I'm going to forget you said that Doctor because I know you're upset," Jack said with deadly seriousness. "Now get to work on reversing whatever it is he did so we can go rescue Martha. I don't think he's waiting twenty minutes to hurt her."

The Doctor grimaced and pulled his hair. "That's the thing. I _can't_. He's integrated the filaments of his remote access conduit through the grid of the primary biofusion thermocore. If I remove it without unsyncing his wrist unit, it'll trigger an explosion."

"Think Doctor! Regaining control of the TARDIS can wait. We just need to pin down their location. Can you hack into the system somehow?" Jack prompted. "Pull up the current layout? Scan for life forms?"

"Oh, oh…Oh! Yes! No!" the Doctor argued with himself. The Doctor focused on Jack with a wild-eyed look. "I can get you to their location, but then it's all up to you. I won't be in any shape to help."

"Trust me, Doctor," Jack said. "I won't let her down."

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* * *

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The Doctor left Jack standing at what used to be the entrance to the corridor but was now a featureless wall and made his way back into the TARDIS's inner workings. He wasn't even entirely sure the TARDIS would allow him what he had in mind. As he crawled through the tunnels, he spoke soothingly to her and explained what he wanted. The TARDIS was a living creature, but it was only semi-sentient. She did not think in human-ish ways, so he could only hope she understood enough not to blast him into his next regeneration.

He eventually found himself in a small spherical chamber with a glowing white orb suspended in the center. He squinted against the light and stepped forward cautiously. He gently placed his hands on the orb, closed his eyes, and then he was falling…into the mind of the TARDIS.

The Doctor supposed the TARDIS had understood his words, because she took him directly where he needed to go. There was no sight, but the Doctor's consciousness filled the room where Martha was held. He felt her pain, and he was angry. The Doctor reached for Jack and pulled…

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* * *

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Martha looked around as the walls started to glow.

"What is this? What did you do?" the Caretaker demanded. He grabbed her by the neck and shook her.

'Why do they always have to go for the neck?' she wondered.

The room quaked…

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* * *

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A path of light opened up before Jack. He did not hesitate. He ran down twisting corridors until he was suddenly brought up short by a dead end. A rumble went through the TARDIS. Jack banged on the glowing wall before him and yelled, "Doctor!"

The entire ship groaned and then the door popped back into existence. Jack kicked it down and burst through the doorway to see the Caretaker strangling Martha. Jack put one bullet through his shoulder and he tumbled over the side of the bed.

"Martha? You with me?" Jack asked, not taking his eyes or his aim off of the Caretaker. She did not answer but he saw her stand slowly and smooth out her skirt out of the corner of his eye. She limped over to stand behind Jack and looked down on the Caretaker as he writhed on the floor.

Martha put her hand on Jack's and he lowered his gun with a sigh. He was surprised but did not resist when she continued the motion and slipped the gun from his hand. With a drawn face, Martha put a bullet through each of the Caretaker's hearts. Then she dropped the gun, oblivious to the look on Jack's face, and stumbled from the room.

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* * *

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The Doctor slipped to the ground, unconscious. The TARDIS sent him through secret channels and bore him gently to the control room.

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By the time Jack broke free of his shock, Martha was gone. Jack retrieved his Webley from the ground, removed the Caretaker's wrist unit and returned to the control room. There he found the Doctor, unconscious. After assuring himself that both the Doctor's hearts were beating, he sat against the wall and waited for him to awaken.

It seemed like hours, though maybe it was only a moment before the Doctor shook himself awake and sat up. Then it was nothing but questions delivered rapidfire.

"Did it work? Where's Martha? Is she ok? How bad is it? Where's the Caretaker? How long was I out?" the Doctor asked.

Jack felt weary and old. "Whatever you did worked. But the Caretaker's dead and Martha's gone," Jack answered.

"He...killed her?" the Doctor asked in shock.

"No! No, she left on her own two feet, but she's gone. Didn't say a word. Just left and holed up somewhere," Jack explained. He hesitated. "She killed the Caretaker. Shot him through both hearts."

The Doctor closed his eyes and let his head fall back.

"I hope you're not planning on lecturing her on the sanctity of life when we find her," Jack said harshly. "She's been through enough."

"My Martha's a healer. It would take a lot for her to think he deserved killing. We'd better find her," the Doctor said. "And we can't do that until I've set the TARDIS right." He heaved himself up and went about undoing the Caretaker's modifications. Once the TARDIS was more or less in a recognizable configuration, it didn't take them long to find their friend.

She didn't answer the door, but her bedroom was quite firmly locked. She did send a message through on the psychic paper, though, and it quite simply said: _I just need some time_.

The Doctor wanted to sonic her door open, but Jack stopped him. "She'll let us in when she's ready," was all he'd say.

"Best we get rid of that…thing before she comes out anyways," the Doctor said with a sigh. They wrapped the body in the blood-spattered bedding and tied it closed, then the Doctor took them into orbit around a sun and they sent the Caretaker into its blazing light.

"I remember when the Caretaker disappeared," the Doctor said as they watched the bundle soar toward the sun. "The nation went into mourning. I was just a kid, but I remember helping my family put up the white ribbons." He shook his head and looked at Jack. "He was a good man. A living symbol of peace."

"Yeah, until he went insane," Jack said.

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* * *

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_One week later…_

The Doctor entered the kitchen and sat down heavily. Jack set a cup of tea in front of him and sat down with his own cup.

"Any word?" Jack asked.

The Doctor flipped open his psychic paper and shoved it across the table. It was blank for a moment and then the same old message, _I just need some time,_ flickered briefly before disappearing.

Jack tapped it with a puzzled look. "What's wrong with it?"

"She's wavering," the Doctor said. "Either she's considering coming out, or she's considering never coming out again."

"That sounds…not good," Jack said. "Maybe we should sonic that door open after all."

"_Finally,_" the Doctor said with relief. Both men jumped up from the table and rushed for the door, nearly bowling Martha over. They stopped short.

"Hi," she said quietly. She looked tired, but better. Her bruises, from both incidents, had all but faded.

"Tea?" the Doctor asked.

Martha smiled.

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* * *

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_Author's note: Poor Martha! I think she deserves a little vacation after all this, don't you? Luckily Jack knows just the spot. I've got ideas for a whole series of stories featuring the 10th Doctor, Martha, and Jack (my three favorite characters), so pay no attention to who's listed in the description. It's going to be the three of them for the foreseeable future._

_Thanks to sadhappygirl and angnay for reviewing the last chapter._


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